March 29, 2011

Notter announces he'll step down as Broward school superintendent in June

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 29, 2011 06:08 PM

BREAKING: Broward schools superintendent Jim Notter dropped a bombshell at the end of a long school board budget workshop on Tuesday: He's quitting at the end of the school year in June.

Notter and the Broward School Board have been under the microscope since the release of a highly critical statewide grand jury report.

Soon after the report was released, Notter vowed that he would not resign.

It's unclear what caused the change of heart. Notter apparently still had the support of a majority of the nine-member school board.

"It is shocking," School Board Chairman Ben Williams said soon after Notter's announcement. "We're going to pull through this together...We must be professional at this time."

"It's a surprise," said School Board Member Nora Rupert.

Earlier in the day, as rumors swirled about Notter's future, School Board Member Jennifer Gottlieb told me that she was unaware that Notter would announce his resignation.

"I want him to stay," Gottlieb said.

"We've still got 91 days together," Notter told the board at the workshop, saying he wanted to ease the transition and allow the board time to search for his replacement.

My first reaction: The timing is certainly awkward, as lame-duck Notter has to preside over some deep cuts and continuing controversy, including a special meeting Wednesday about the school district's response to the grand jury report. Is Notter's decision related to more fallout expected from the continuing investigations?

My second reaction: I wonder if Notter is lifting a page from the Ed Marko playbook, announcing his retirement in order to spur the board to ask him to reconsider and stay. Marko was the longtime attorney for the school district who kept announcing his intention to retire, then kept delaying his exit as school board members dithered about finding a replacement. Marko finally was pushed out in November, soon after four new board members were elected. Given all that's happened with the school district, it definitely seems like a far-fetched scenario/strategy, but stranger things have happened.

Here's a text of a statement/reaction from Broward Teachers Union President Pat Santeramo about Notter's resignation:

“During Notter’s tenure as superintendent, employee morale and labor relations has reached an all-time low, for which he has continually blamed everyone except himself including the economy and state political process.

“Superintendent Jim Notter’s long and distinguished career in education has ended on a bad note.

“By resigning, Superintendent Notter has taken the most important step possible in restoring the public’s trust in our school system.

“Notter has been a leader in Broward schools for years as superintendent and deputy superintendent and simply cannot separate himself from the district’s pervasive culture of corruption and resulting public distrust.

“The BTU hopes School Board members will actively engage all unions and their members in selecting a new superintendent who has the vision as well as finance and management skills to truly restore employee morale and public trust.”

March 22, 2011

More on Oliphant's hiring

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 22, 2011 04:33 PM

The Broward alternative school principal who hired Miriam Oliphant as a guidance counselor in January didn't want to talk about it on Tuesday.

"You need to call our P.R. office," Tracy Lockhart-Talley, principal of the Dave Thomas Education Center in Coconut Creek, told me when I reached her by phone. "They have all the information there."

Bummer.

Would have been much simpler to get my questions answered directly from the source, but this being the Broward School District, red tape and bureaucracy is the preferred method.

So I called the Broward schools' media relations department, and I still haven't gotten answers to the questions that I wanted to pose to Lockhart-Talley.

Such as: What was it about Oliphant that made her the best of 56 candidates for the job? Did other candidates have more classroom teaching and guidance counselor experience? Was she aware that Oliphant would be hired at the top-of-the-scale $75,200 salary? Did Oliphant indicate that she would qualify for 23 years of "related work" credit for previous (non-teaching) jobs? And if she was aware of Oliphant's salary scale, why not hire somebody cheaper with more counselor experience?

Still waiting.

According to district spokeswoman Nadine Drew, school principals hire instructional personnel, including guidance counselors, and the Broward School Board formally ratifies the decisions.

This story has triggered enormous interest, so I'm hoping to get answers.

(And no, I'm not ignoring the latest brewing tempest involving School Board Member Ann Murray and reports her disturbing use of the N-word in her previous job as a school bus terminal supervisor in 2007, first reported by Broward New Times' Bob Norman. As no stranger to N-word controversies, I'll post my thoughts about this tomorrow.)

But her getting a top-of-the-line salary is absurd, an insult to so many teaching veterans who've been stuck without longevity increases the last few years because of budget cuts.

It's still unclear who approved Oliphant's "directly related work" salary credit and what documentation, if any, was used to justify it.

When Oliphant was first hired as a guidance counselor in 2008, on a temporary teaching certification, she started at a lower salary and didn't file for the related work credit.

But by the time she flunked the certification exam and was fired in 2009, she was earning the top-grade $75,200.

At that time, school board officials said she was credited for her work with the State Attorney's Office and Broward Public Defender as a victims' liaison and witness coordinator. But there was no paperwork in her file seeking the credit or supporting it.

It's unclear on what basis she received the credit when she was rehired in January. I've asked for related paperwork and documents from her personnel file, and the request is pending.

It's as confusing as heck, because that's the Florida way, but here's the basic breakdown.

Some elected officials can be recalled, others can only be removed from office by governor's suspension and others can only be removed by impeachment proceedings.

--In Broward, county commissioners and municipal elected officials are subject to recall, but the petition process is burdensome and stacked against recalls unless there's a well-financed, well-organized effort.

Miami-Dade had their recall Sugar Daddy in the form of angry auto magnate Norm Braman. But in Broward, it seems all the wealthy business types are more partners and enablers for politicians than antagonists.

--In Broward, school board members and constitutional officers (the Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, Clerk of Courts, Public Defender and State Attorney) can not be recalled. Neither can state legislators.

According to the state constitution, these officials can be suspended by the governor for "malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties or commission of a felony."

Typically, elected officials who are charged with felonies are also suspended from office pending the case outcome.

--Florida's governor, cabinet members and judges can not be recalled by voters, but can be impeached on certain grounds by two-thirds vote of the state House of Representatives (and then tried by the Florida Senate). Once impeached, they can't perform official duties unless acquitted by the senate.

Broward hasn't had any recall efforts in recent memory, but the closest thing was widespread disgust over the bumbling performance of former Broward Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant.

After huge voter outcry in 2002-2003, she was suspended by Gov. Jeb Bush in November 2003 for "grave neglect, mismanagement and incompetence."

Voters rejected her when she ran for the office again, losing to Brenda Snipes, her appointed successor. In 2005, the state senate held a trial and upheld her suspension.

To get a recall drive off the ground for county commissioners or municipal officials, a petition signed by five percent of voters in a given district (about 6,000 voters for county commissioners) has to be collected in 30 days.

There has to be sufficient cause for recall (like malfeasance, misfeasance or incompetence).

After signatures are validated and notice is given to the recall target, another petition signed by 15 percent of voters must be collected within 60 days. Then a recall election is scheduled.

These are pretty high hurdles.

And considering this is Broward, where turnout for local elections rarely tops 10 percent and only one member of the public came to speak out against the school board after a recent damning grand jury report, I wouldn't hold my breath for any recalls.

Unless Braman decides to move north, I think we're stuck with what we've got until the next scheduled election or arrest.

March 10, 2011

Can prosecutors prove Tamarac Mayor struck corrupt deal?

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 10, 2011 11:19 AM

The crux of the case against suspended Tamarac Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco boils down to this: Did she promise developers Bruce and Shawn Chait to vote favorably for their controversial project in exchange for a $21,000 contribution to an electioneering committee?

Before the money changed hands (and it didn't even end up in Flansbaum-Talabisco's hands), she had told them that she supported their housing project on two golf courses.

So you can bet she will say that their secretive contribution to a third-party election group was irrelevant to her eventual votes.

Prosecutors are going to have to show that a corrupt deal was struck, that the contribution was made in exchange for her future votes.

There's circumstantial evidence, and there'll be supporting testimony from the Chaits and Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, Flansbaum-Talabisco's friend and political mentor.

But will prosecutors have the goods to get a conviction?

The Chaits will say there was a deal, but their motives and credibility will be questioned since they've pleaded guilty to a felony and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Flansbaum-Talabisco will likely say she made no deal or promises, and that their contribution and her machinations to publicly distance herself from them before the election were simply politics as usual.

It could all boil down to Lieberman. In the arrest affidavit, Lieberman is described as voicing concerns to Flansbaum-Talabisco about her voting on the project so soon after the election.

"Flansbaum-Talabisco told Commissioner Lieberman she was still going to 'vote' because she had made a commitment," the affidavit said.

Proving that will be the key.
This isn't the typical bribery or unlawful compensation case.

There's no undercover sting, no tapes showing a corrupt deal was struck.

Unlike former school board member Bev Gallagher, Flansbaum-Talabisco didn't take money home in a doggy bag.

Unlike her former Tamarac commission colleagues Patricia Atkins-Grad and Marc Sultanof, she's not accused of taking money for a car or personal enrichment.

Instead, she's accused of selling out her vote for the sake of mud-slinging campaign mailers to tip an election.

As I wrote in today's print column, the low price tag that Broward's public servants put on their reputation and legacies never ceases to amaze.

March 9, 2011

Tamarac pharmacy might sue BSO for defamation

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 9, 2011 10:23 AM

It appears Tamarac city officials will not try to close a pharmacy that's been selling a lot of oxycodone, and the pharmacy has filed notice that it might sue the Broward Sheriff's Office for defamation.

The hearing is on the city commission agenda, but attorney Michael Bernstein said it would be re-scheduled and likely scrapped as the two sides work toward an agreement allowing the pharmacy to remain open.

At the same time, the pharmacy has filed notice of its intent to sue BSO for recent words and actions.

Bernstein said he sent the six-month warning notice in mid-February, a few weeks after BSO Tamarac district chief Marc Duguay made unflattering remarks about the pharmacy.

BSO, which patrols Tamarac, complained to the city about the pharmacy's repeated calls for service.

After a January city commission meeting, BSO Tamarac district chief Marc Duguay questioned pharmacist Hal Goldman's ethics and said, "We wish we could arrest him. But there's nothing to arrest him on."

On Wednesday morning, Bernstein called on Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti to investigate Duguay's remarks and "get a handle on the situation."

BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal said the agency doesn't usually comment on pending litigation, but he would check to see if Lamberti wanted to respond. I'll update later if I hear more from BSO.

Goldman is a licensed pharmacist in good standing with the state who has no record of wrongdoing.

But the pharmacy's oxycodone sales, more than 2.8 million doses since opening in mid-2009, has triggered concern.

Goldman, an ex-Miramar reserve police office and former healthcare executive, said he goes to great lengths to weed out potential pain-pill abusers and traffickers among his customers.

He said he used to call BSO regularly when he suspected someone of doctor-shopping or submitting a bogus prescription.

City officials called the pharmacy a "danger to the public peace" and "disruptive," citing statistics from past years that the pharmacy sold more oxycodone pills than every other pharmacy combined in its zip code.

But oxycodone is legal, and Goldman said the problem is with unscrupulous doctors and pain clinics that over-prescribe the drug, not pharmacies that fill valid prescriptions.

Goldman is a strong backer of a state prescription drug database, which would alert pharmacists of customers trying to fill more than one prescription a month.

Gov. Scott and House leaders are trying to scrap the database, authorized by the Legislature in 2009.

Bernstein said the city's attempts to revoke the pharmacy's business license amounted to "selective enforcement."

Bernstein and Goldman have met with city attorneys and are confident they'll soon reach agreement to keep the pharmacy open.

Goldman said he has cut down on oxycodone sales by not selling to new customers unless they are cancer patients. He also said he has never filled oxycodone or narcotic prescriptions for out-of-state shoppers.

March 8, 2011

Will Tallahassee wage war on poor and middle class?

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 8, 2011 09:05 AM

Scared because a recklessly ideological governor and conservative Republican super-majorities in the House and Senate seem eager to do big business' bidding.

Scared because the common sense and common purpose of the Charlie Crist era seems long gone.

Scared because a full-out assault on the poor and middle class could devastate this state for years to come.

By the time this session is over, teachers and public workers might see shrinking paychecks and benefits, prison guards might face pay cuts to keep newly-privatized jobs, the sick and elderly might face deep cuts to social services and the rest of us might face exorbitant increases in property insurance rates.

Oh well, at least there might not be a prescription drug database monitoring system.

We can doctor shop and pill pop til we drop!

The latest evidence of just how out of touch this Legislature might be: a proposed insurance bill that would stick it to hapless customers of state-run Citizens.

Most property owners in South Florida are stuck with Citizens because private insurers have fled the market.

The bills (SB1714 and HB1243) would allow Citizens to raise rates up to 25 percent annually, deny policyholders the right to hire public adjusters to contest claims and force policyholders to go with private insurers willing to write policies, even if those rates are up to 25 percent higher than Citizens' rates.

It's a great plan, if the intent is to bankrupt the little guy and small businesses and put all our money into the pockets of insurers.

If this goes through, Gov. Scott should revamp his catchphrase.

Instead of "Let's get to work," our new mantra would be, "Let's move to Tennessee."

The proposed insurance bill would also eventually drop all high-value property (homes over $500,000) from Citizens' books. So there would be pain for the wealthy, too.

Here's the thing I don't understand: Let's say you have a $700,000 house in eastern Broward and Citizens is the only insurer who'll write you a policy.

What are you supposed to do when they drop you?

Banks require anybody with a mortgage to carry property insurance.

What's the alternative to Citizens if there are no alternatives?

It's well thought-out proposals like these that makes me tremble for the next two months.

March 7, 2011

What's wrong with the Heat?

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 7, 2011 10:58 AM

So much for a Heat dynasty. At this point, one win against an elite team would be nice.

I know it's a big news week -- local elections are on tap, the Legislature opens its annual bizarre bazaar and there's no telling what our goofy governor has in store next -- but after a meltdown Heat week I figured it's time to write about the basketball team the rest of the country loves to hate.

A funny thing has happened on the way to the coronation -- the Heat has become the Dolphins.

OK, maybe they're not that bad (after all, the Heat will make the playoffs), but they've become just as frustrating for fans to watch.

The Three Kings have become hardcourt paupers, able to beat up on the NBA's weak but inept against the league's best.

They are 43-20 overall, 1-9 against the top five teams in the NBA.

In the past week, they've lost at home to the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls and got blown out on the road by the San Antonio Spurs. In the loss to the Magic, the Heat blew a huge lead.

Optimists can say it doesn't really matter, that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can still get things together for the playoffs and make a championship run.

Pessimists will say the Heat's struggles are no aberration, that the team has matchup problems against deeper opponents and that they wear a huge target on their backs because of their arrogant display when they held a de facto championship party after signing James, Wade and Bosh last summer.

At that celebration, James promised seven straight championships.

This, coming from a brash superstar who hasn't won any titles.

A brash superstar who hasn't been delivering in the clutch, even though he's been getting the ball with games on the line. (Tellingly, Wade expressed frustration about the situation on Sunday).

I took a lot of heat (ha-ha) last summer when I wrote that a Heat dynasty was no sure thing, because superstar marriages in sports don't guarantee rings.

At the time, I used the analogy of Alex Rodriguez joining Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees in 2004.

It took them six seasons before they finally won the World Series.

And they had quite the soap-opera ride along the way.

Something tells me this Heat nucleus won't last together six years if a championship doesn't come quickly.

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 4, 2011 12:58 PM

The program was craftily designed to withstand a court challenge. Instead of having state money go to private schools (including religious schools) -- which would be a constitutional no-no -- the voucher program relies on corporate contributions.

Those contributions are "tax credits," meaning the corporations would have paid the money to the state but get to deduct the amount from their tax bills instead.

Critics say this program undercuts the public school system, diverting money that would have otherwise gone to the state for public education.

Proponents say it gives poor kids in failing public schools more choice.

I kind of get a chuckle out of this, knowing how some politicians have been stirring the pot against Islam and Muslims.

I also get a chuckle out of the fact that ABC Liquors is one of 100 contributing companies, considering the Nur Ul Islam Academy in Cooper City has the biggest voucher population in Broward (169 of 361 students).

According to its website, the Nur Ul Islam Academy promotes an Islamic society "where people lead their lives under laws of eternal principles of righteousness...and sobriety" with "intoxicants banished."

March 2, 2011

Broward school board meeting -- Shameful and shameless

> Posted by Michael Mayo on March 2, 2011 11:06 AM

Two words to sum up the Broward School Board meeting on Tuesday, the first since the release of a scathing statewide grand jury report: Shameful and shameless.

Shameful: Only one measly member of the public -- a teacher -- turned out to express outrage over the grand jury's findings of gross mismanagement and malfeasance in the school system.

Shameless: Embattled school board members and superintendent Jim Notter rallied the troops, with community business leaders showing up to heap praise upon them. And tone-deaf board member Maureen Dinnen threw a pity party, breaking into tears as she criticized the report for bordering on "gossip and hearsay."

After this apathetic and pathetic display, all I can say is we deserve what we get when it comes to Broward schools.

No wonder the folks running things seem to cater more to the vendors and contractors than the taxpayers and general public.

I know that the daytime meeting time hindered most working folks from attending. But in a county with 1.8 million people and a school district with some 250,000 students, I'd expect more than just one angry voice to turn out.

If people are this disinterested, even after a blistering report that said the mismanagement and waste of millions of dollars could only be explained by "corruption of our officials," then it's no wonder the powers-that-be feel they can act with impunity and get away with it.

Having the business community which has benefited from the school district's inept largesse turn out to defend its leaders is more than rich.

As one Sun Sentinel message-board commenter put it, "Wow -- the weasels stealing chickens from the hen house defended the people ruining the hen house. Go figure."

Dinnen is emblematic of the dysfunctional board's mentality. Instead of apologizing, she acts like the victim.

It was a poor follow-up to her performance at a workshop last week, when she fretted that a proposed new ethics policy might be too complicated: "Let's make it crystal clear so I don't have to ask my secretary what is proper and what is not."

Sorry, but if you have to ask a secretary what's proper, maybe the secretary should be on the school board, not you.

Notter said he would propose some policy changes to address the grand jury's concerns.

Here are two that the board should pass pronto:

--Any expenditure or action that would cost the district more than $75,000 should have to be placed on the regular agenda, not on the consent agenda where it can be passed with a host of other items without debate. As it stands, items below $1 million can be placed on the consent agenda. That's way too high a threshold.

--Ban the addition of late items to the consent agenda. That's another way things can get snuck past the public. Late items should only be permitted on the regular agenda, and only for good reason.

Forget the P.R. spin and the image-polishing that we saw Tuesday. It's time the school board, pushed by four new members elected last November, makes some meaningful changes.

MICHAEL MAYO has been the Sun-Sentinel's Broward news columnist since 2002. He is not a failed sports writer, as some detractors contend, just a lapsed one. He came to South Florida to cover sports in 1989. He now takes aim at everything under the sun. He was born in Brooklyn, went to college in Boston and has also lived in London and Spartanburg, S.C. His hobbies include losing weight (unsuccessfully) and losing golf balls (very successfully).